Dream in Ashes
by BlackShadowScythe
Summary: Ash returns to Pallet Town after parting ways with Brock and Dawn. He is intercepted by Team Rocket, but instead of an easy victory, Ash is forced to battle a mysterious red hair young man who makes him question his journey thus far. Quick rewrite of my first fanfiction. Reviews will be appreciated.
1. Failure

Ash stared up at his bedroom ceiling, observing the tiny cracks in the paint. He felt defeated, both physically and mentally. Pikachu leapt onto his shoulder and nuzzled his cheek, in hopes of comforting him, but nothing the little electric mouse could do would cheer Ash up after he had so brutally let his team down.

He looked at the pokeballs on his desk: Staraptor, Gible, Infernape, Buizel and Torterra. His friends, through, after his carelessness, he could hardly call himself their trainer.

His friends: Brock and Dawn, Misty, May and Max. After following him on his badge collecting journeys, they had each gone off in their separate directions. Brock had gone to medical school. Misty was the gym leader of Cerulean City. May and Dawn were both pokemon coordinators and Max... should be starting his own journey right about now.

As for himself...

"Ash!" his mother called from the kitchen. He didn't respond. He didn't have the energy nor the willpower to. All he could do was think of the past and dread what the future might bring.

* * *

_*Flashback*_

Ash ran through the forest on the road back to Pallet Town, the Sinnoh League still fresh in his mind. This was the closest he had ever come to winning the League. He had come in Top 4 in Sinnoh. _Next time for sure,_ he thought.

Suddenly, an explosion shook the trees. Ash ran in the direction of the blast and saw a familiar hot air balloon caught in the branches. A man and woman in their early 20s staggered out of the basket.

"Team Rocket!" Ash cried.

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu joined in, looking both annoyed and indignant.

The trio instant flashed their usual poses and recited the lines Ash had heard a thousand times in more variations then he could count.

"Pair for trouble, we have trump card!"

"And make it double, beating us will be hard!"

"To-"

Just then a new voice cried in an irritated voice. "Do you have to say it every time!?"

A boy with long, red hair crawled out of the basket. He looked extremely frustrated which came as not surprise seeing as his hair seemed to be a twig magnet. He pulled a branch out of his hair and tossed it aside.

"You're not getting Pikachu!" Ash growled.

The boy ignored him. Instead he pulled out a pokeball. It enlarged in his hand and he held it out to Ash, "How about a battle?"


	2. vs Feraligatr (part 1)

**Chapter 2: vs Feraligatr (part 1)**

* * *

**A/N: This is a causal fic so please excuse the short chapters. I'm in the process of writing a really long fanfiction for pokemon titled, "Search for the Phantom" which features Giovanni as a main character. If you like my writing please check it out. It also features Persian, Miyamoto, Red (Ash's father even through I don't think Ash and the actual Red are son and father) and Delia.**

**I also have a series of one-shots titled, "Tales of Team Rocket." featuring the HGSS executives. Remember to leave a review telling me what you think! It will help alot!**

* * *

"Why should I?" Ash said, suspiciously.

"You have six pokemon and the eight Sinnoh badges." the boy said.

"How do you know that?"

"I saw you on TV." he said, as if it were the completely natural thing to say. "So? What about it? Not that you really have any choice."

As if on queue, the trio surrounded Ash, blocking all paths of escape. Not that Ash wouldn't be able to run if he tried. One Thunderbolt from Pikachu was all it would take to send Team Rocket flying, but he couldn't ignore the urge he had to battle. The boy seemed to be pretty confident. He nodded in agreement.

The boy smiled. "Good. The name's Silver by the way. Let's begin." He pushed the button on the pokeball and tossed it. It burst open a Feraligatr materialized.

"Feraligatr huh?" Ash murmured, pulling out his pokedex.

"Hey!" Silver shouted. He sounded completely ticked off. "What are you doing?!"

"This is a pokedex." Ash explained.

"I know that!" he growled, "But we're in the middle of a battle!" Ash hastily put the pokedex away, but Silver was still furious. "Since you don't seem to be taking this battle serious. Let's up the stakes. If I win, I get all the pokemon you have on you now."

"Fine!" Ash cried. "But only because I know I'll win!"

He chose a pokeball from his belt. He wasn't taking any chances. "Torterra! You're up first!"

"It'll be three on three." Silver said, "Nice and quick."

"Fine with me!" Ash replied, "Torterra start with Leaf Storm!"

"Counter with Blizzard." Silver cried as a icy snow storm swept across the trees, freezing everything within a 20 foot radius. "Feraligatr can learn other types of attacks besides water you know."

"Rock Climb!"

Torterra's claws enlarged in size and began to glowed white. It stood up on its hind legs and slammed into the ground with its massive upper body strength. The ground split open and a large piece of earth rose from the crack, lifting Feraligatr up to the top of a cliff that soared beyond the highest treetops.

Torterra sprinted up the vertical cliff, aiming to shove Feraligatr off the edge.

"Use Waterfall." Feraligatr slammed its claws on the edge of the cliff, sending a wave of liquid pouring down. "Now freeze it with Blizzard." The waterfall instantly froze over, trapping Torterra's legs in a thick layer of ice.

"Torterra use Energy Ball!"

"Shadow Claw." Feraligatr smashed the edge of the cliff causing a claw-shaped shadow to rise out of the cliff face. It grabbed the Energy Ball and tossed it straight back in Torterra's direction.

The impact caused Torterra to break free of the ice and plummet towards the ground. Ash watched in horror as Torterra crashed to the ground. He reached for his belt and whipped out his pokeball, recalling it before it could make impact.

Even with a type disadvantage "Silver" had managed to win without taking a hit. Ash shook his head. He had won plenty of matches with a type disadvantage. It didn't mean a thing.

"Well?" Silver said, snapping Ash out of his stunned daze. "Choose your next pokemon."


	3. vs Feraligatr (part 2)

**Chapter 3: vs Feraligatr (part 2)**

* * *

"Infernape!"

"You couldn't make it with a grass type so now you're trying fire, huh?" Silver remarked, "You're strategy is rather clever, but sadly ineffective."

"The twerp boss is pretty good." James whispered to Jessie and Meowth. After Ash had accepted the battle challenge, the trio had clustered together to watch the kid they had stalked through 4 regions and their future boss face off.

Ash looked at Silver's Feraligatr, it hadn't taken any hits, but it had obviously used up a lot of its strength in the battle. "Infernape start with Dig!"

"Take the hit." Silver commanded. Feraligatr gritted its teeth, but remained stationary.

Ash was stunned. Why would Silver tell his own pokemon to take damage? But this was a battle so he had to keep the attacks coming for his own pokemon's sake.

Infernape burst out of the ground and bashed into the reptile head on. "Now use Mach Punch!"

"Stop it with Crunch." Feraligatr lunged forward and grabbed Infernape's fist in his teeth.

"Use Flamethrower!" Ash shouted as Infernape pull its head back and let out a torrent of flames. The incredible power of the attack forced Feraligatr to loose its footing and slide several inches back, creating deep claw marks in the dirt.

"Counter with Waterfall." Silver commanded. Feraligatr put out his arms and gave Infernape a rough shove accompanied by a torrent of liquid, sending it flying backwards several feet.

Ash cringed at the loud cracking sound Infernape made when his back slammed against a tree. He lay motionless on the ground for several seconds, but then slowly stood up. It let out a furious battle cry and the flames on its head grew even brighter.

"Blaze." Ash whispered. Infernape's ability had been activated. "Finish it with Flare Blitz!" he cried as as Infernape's body became surrounded by red-orange fire.

"Waterfall!"

The two attacks countered each other, creating an explosion that shook the forest. When the mist cleared, both pokemon lay fainted on the ground.

"Infernape return!" Ash said, recalling his pokemon. He looked at his pokeball and whispered, "You did great." before putting reattaching it to his belt.

"Get up!" Silver shouted. Feraligatr got up and staggered forward. It was obviously exhausted from the last two battles, but its trainer had ordered it to stand and so it did. Its eyes were glazed over and its pupils were barely visible.

"Hey!" Ash exclaimed, infuriated that a trainer would still force a pokemon to keep fighting when it was in such a state. "What are you doing! Feraligatr's exhausted! Switch it out!"

"You should really be more worried about yourself. You only have one pokemon left."


	4. vs Feraligatr (part 3)

"I suggest you quit now like a good trainer and save yourself and your pokemon the pain of defeat." Silver said, smugly.

"Defeat is nothing." Ash said, darkly. "I've lost before, but all the trainers I've ever been defeat by all cared for their pokemon and treated them as friends. As a pokemon trainer, I won't ever lose to someone who doesn't love their pokemon."

"Love has no meaning in battle." Silver said coldly. "Pokemon battles are about a trainer's wits and a pokemon's power."

"That's not true!""

"Should the trainer whose losing to me really be arguing?" Silver said matter-a-factly.

Ash gritted his teeth. He knew which pokemon he would use. His partner who he could trust to never let him down. The battle was far from being over. He wasn't going to show Silver what it meant to be a trainer.

He looked a Feraligatr. It was exhausted. He doubt it could take another hit. It would be an easy match, but at the same time, he felt bad that he had to beat a defenseless opponent. But he didn't have a choice. His own pokemon were at stake.

"Pikachu THUNDERBOLT!"

"Shoot water upwards." Silver commanded.

Feraligatr lifted his head and shot a column of water into the air. Pikachu's attack zoomed towards the water pokemon, but swerved and changed direction at the last second, hitting the geyser of water and scattering charged droplets throughout the battlefield like grenades.

"Dodge them!" Ash shouted, "Then use Iron Tail!"

"Crunch" Feraligatr caught Pikachu's tail in his teeth.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Fling it! Then Blizzard." The blizzard neutralized Pikachu's attack causing the mouse to be flung into a tree. "Now go underground!" Silver ordered. Feraligatr dove into the hole Infernape had dug earlier. "Just because Feraligatr didn't dug the hole doesn't mean he can't use it."

_And as long as he's underground Pikachu's attacks won't be able to reach him. _

"Shadow Claw!" Pikachu cried out in shock as shadowy talons erupted from the ground and reached out to snatch at him.

"Pikachua! You jump into the hole too!" Ash commanded.

"Pika!"

"How stupid." Silver commented. "You fell for such an obvious trick."

"What..." Ash mumbled, still confused.

"Waterfall."

And then it hit him. He cried out for Pikachu to get out of the hole, but it was too late. Feraliagatr had already crawled out of the hole and released a torrent of waves.

* * *

"How stupid." Silver repeated as he watched Ash dive into the water after Pikachu. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Stirus Berry. He tossed it in Feraligatr's directions. The pokemon caught it between his teeth and devoured it greedily.

"You don't even deserved that." Silver growled. "That battle was sloppy. If I had one of father's pokemon I could had swept that match."

Feraligatr growled as if to say, _Bite me_.

"Well that battle was a complete waste of time." he grumbled, turning to the trio who were in awe of him. "The only reason I agreed to come out her was because you say he was strong."

"Well-" Jessie smiled sheepishly.

Silver groaned as he realized who he was talking to. "Of course _you two_ would think he was tough." he grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Aren't you going to take the twerp's pokemon?" Jessie asked.

"It's not worth it. They're all too weak to be bothered with." then he added, "Now fix that darned thing and take me back to headquarters." he commanded. "I _despise_ this place."

"YES SIR!" the trio saluted in unison.

They rushed to the fallen balloon. "The twerp boss is scarier then the boss boss." James whispered. Jessie and Meowth nodded in agreement.


	5. Just as Selfish

Ash dove into the water after Pikachu. Luckily the tunnels were pretty straightforward. If he had asked Infernape to dig more, it might have taken hours to find his partner. "Pikachu!" he cried, air bubbles escaping his mouth and rushing towards the surface of the water. He snatched the mouse pokemon and swam frantically towards the surface.

He fought for breath. He watched and Silver watch up to him. His hand instinctively protecting his pokeballs.

"I must say that match was a disappointment." Silver said, "I watch the league tournament every year. Every year you use a different team. You say I don't love pokemon, but if you did why would you leave your _partners_ behind every time you challenged another league? Why would you toss your themaside unless you believed they weren't good enough?" He shook his head, "But what was I expecting. You're just like the rest. Self-righteous and foolish." He gave Ash a pitying look then walked back to the balloon.

"We're ready to leave sir!" Meowth cried.

"Fine." Silver took out a pokeball, "Feraligatr Return!"

* * *

Ash stumbled downstairs, ever ounce of enthusiasm drain out of him. This was the first time in three days he had left his room.

"Ash!" his mother cried, happily. "I made you dinner." She kissed him on the forehead. "I hope you're feeling better."

Delia walked back into the kitchen and came back with a plate of food. She set it in front of Ash, then looked at him worriedly. Ash had been unusually quiet since he had returned. She had sensed something was wrong almost instantly and had asked him about it, but he had refused to speak to her about it, instead locking himself in his room. She wanted to give him privacy, but seeing her usually cheerful son in this state was more then troubling to her, especially since she rare saw much of him since he had first left on his journey. It had been a lonely 4 years for Delia and now that her son was back, she wasn't going to sit around and let him to continue to feel alone.

"Honey." she began, "Don't you think it's about time you tell me what's going on."

Ash looked up from his food. "It's nothing. I'm fine. I've just been think about a lot of things lately."

"Sweetie." Delia said, "You've been locked in your room for three days."

Ash struggled for a response. He wasn't going to tell his mother he had lost. He was disappointed and ashamed of himself. He was especially trouble by what Silver had said to him just before he had left.

_Why would you toss your themaside unless you believed they weren't good enough?... Self-righteous and foolish._

"I was just thinking that..." Ash stammered, "Well I've been away for a while so maybe I should say in Pallet Town with you for a while."

"I would be thrilled." Delia smiled, her face practically glowing with happiness.


	6. Old Friends

"Hey Ash!" a voice shouted. Ash flinched, recognizing the voice almost immediately. He groaned. This was the last thing he needed.

It had been a week since he had returned to Pallet Town. He had, had a quiet peaceful time so far, mostly running errands for his mother and helping her with the restaurant.

"Hey Ash!" the voice said again. "Open up, I know you're home!"

Ash trudged to the door and opened it reluctantly. "Oh, hey Gary." he muttered.

"What's this I hear about you quitting?" he asked.

"It's none of your business." Ash replied, defensively. Then he added, "Besides, I didn't quit. I'm just taking a break, that's all."

"If you're quitting it is my business." Gary insisted. "I lost to you remember? How would I look if you suddenly quit?" He pushed passed Ash and entered the house, hanging up his white lab coat and tossing a briefcase which popped opened, scattering papers over the floor. Gary ignored the mess and sat down on a couch in the living room.

"Why does that matter, you're not even a trainer anymore."

"Yeah, I'm a researcher now, but I still have a reputation. Which means, as someone's whose beat me, you have an obligation never to lose again, for my sake."

"For your sake huh?" Ash pouted.

"That's right. But you don't always win." Gary continued. "You've lost the Hoenn and the Sinnoh, but that didn't stop you. So why are you bugging about it now?"

"I'm not doing anything like that." Ash denied. "It's just that... I'm trying something new." he lied. "Yeah. You were a trainer before you became a researcher so why can't I do the same?"

Gary raised a curious eyebrow. "Alright, so what are you doing?"

"Um..." Ash muttered, quickly thinking up a response. "I'm just helping my mom out at the restaurant."

"Yeah? Ok then Master Chief, make me lunch then."

"Huh?"

"What?" Gary said with a smug smiled. "Is that so much to ask?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few bills. "Look, I'll even play. You're not going to turn down business are you? In a small town like Pallet, you're not going to get many customers."

Ash gritted his teeth. If he had learned one thing on his journey it was that he could NOT cook. Brock had made most of his meals anyways.

"Fine! I lied alright?" He blurted out.

"Ah, huh." Gary said, knowingly. "So tell me the truth this time Ashy. What's the 411?"

"I meant this guy before I got back to Pallet Town. We battle and he beat me. 3 to 0. Total knock out."

"So? It was pretty much the same thing back in the Sinnoh league and you didn't seem too upset."

"That was different!" Ash protested.

"Different how?"

"This guy was from Team Rocket." Gary's eyes widened in shock as Ash continued. "He was our age, maybe younger." Ash sighed and sat down opposite Gary.

"You know, I always though that being a good trainer meant loving your pokemon and caring for them like family, but this guy beat me without any of that. And losing to him made me question everything I believe."

"So you're staying home and pouting about it."

"Thinking rationally." Ash corrected.

"Tsh! Since when do you think?" Gary scoffed. Then he added, "So have you been to see grandpa since you got back?"

"No..."

"So you're keeping something from me." Gary stated.

Ash flinched. "N-no I-"

"Oh come on Ash! I know you better than that!" Gary cried. "We were rivals for years and friends since even before that. If you had just lost to that guy you would have chased him down to the edge of the Earth demanding a rematch! So why didn't you?" he finished in a quieter tone.

Ash was silent for a moment then said, "He told me I was self-righteous and foolish for leaving my partners behind in exchange for new ones. That I was no different than he was because of that. Maybe he's right."

"Ash..." Gary started. "This is really pathetic of you. And I mean even more than usual."

"Gee thanks Gary." Ash grumbled. "You're a great pal." He shooed him up off the couch and towards the door.

Gary picked up his papers and shoved them back into the briefcase. He took his coat from off the hanger and stepped out.

"If you're so worried about it, why don't you go back to the lab and see what they think?"

"Huh?"

Gary shrugged. "It's just a thought. Since they're your pokemon I'm search they'll be happy to see you again."


	7. True Nature

"Ash I was expecting you!" Professor Oak cried as he opened the door for him. "I heard from your mother that you were back in Pallet Town and I was wondering when you would come to visit!"

"Sorry it took so long Professor, I've just been helping my mom out with a few things."

"Not my sorry my boy." the professor smiled. "You know what I say, family first. And speaking of family, you're pokemon have really missed you while you were in Sinnoh. I'm sure the they would be eager to meet the pokemon you caught in Sinnoh too!"

The professor lead Ash outside where he was immediately bombarded by a hoard of Tauros. Professor Oak laughed.

"Looks like Tauros missed you especially." Ash couldn't help but chuckle. Seeing his old pokemon again did make him feel better.

"Bulbasaur!"

"Heracross!"

"Corpish!

"Haha! I missed you guys. It's really been a while." he said, happily as more of his pokemon crowded around him. "I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. I've met a whole bunch of strong trainers in Sinnoh." he announced. "So let's all work hard and go our best!"

"Swellow!"

"Quilava!"

"Muk!"

_"But for today, let's just be together. Let's stay as we were before. Just a little while longer..."_

* * *

Ash stood outside Professor Oak's lab, brushing his Tauros's fur rhythmically while every once in a while wiping sweat from his brow. "One down, 29 to go." he said.

"Looks like you just about have everything figured out." a familiar voice said. "I think you were just letting what he said get to you. You're not like him 'cause if you were, you wouldn't have come back like you did."

"Gary." Ash murmured as he spotted the boy inspecting the beak of a Doduo. "What are you doing here?"

"Did you know that there's a theory among the great ancient philosophers that pokemon as incapable of evil as we believe them to be today?" Gary mused.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that today we think that pokemon are incapable of doing bad things, that they only follow the orders of their trainers." Gary explained. "In ancient times, pokemon were thought of as powerful, mystic and, almost god-like beings capable of great harm. Of course today we know that, that's stupid nonsense. But I've been thinking for a while now, maybe they were right. I mean, there are good and bad people right? Do you think pokemon are smart Ash?"

"Sure I do." Ash replied, not quite sure what Gary was getting at.

"Then that means they are capable of making rational decisions like people are."

"Of course."

"Then why shouldn't they be blamed for their actions as people are too? I mean, we tell them what to do, but we don't force it on them so they should have the power to decide for themselves whether or not they wanna do it, isn't that right?" Ash nodded. "So how you explain why pokemon that belong to Team Rocket do exactly what they're told without question even though their actions are unquestionably illegal and often involve hurting their own kind? Should people really take all the blame for their pokemon's actions? I mean, we command them, but that's really just half the equation. They're the ones that make it happen so they hold half the responsibility." Gary concluded. "What I'm trying to say it, maybe pokemon aren't as innocent and simple-minded as we make them to be. Maybe they can't think of evil plots like humans can, but they certainly have no objection to carrying them out. In that case, pokemon choose us just as much as we choose them. With that logic love isn't even necessary to be a good trainer. You just have to-"

"Be yourself?" Ash finished.

Gary snapped his fingers loudly and grinned. "That's right! Be yourself and the pokemon that like you for who you are will find you. Isn't that what happened with you and Pikachu?" Ash nodded. Gary was right. When he had first met Pikachu, the little mouse pokemon hadn't liked him at all. And now they were inseparable friends.

"So, what do you think Ash? It would be an intriguing topic for my next paper, huh?"

"You know what Gary?" Ash said, smiling. "I might just read that."

**The End**


End file.
